VOA慢速英语:为了心脏健康 眼见为实

When it comes to having a healthy body, seeing may be believing.
当谈到拥有健康的身体，也许看见才会相信（见了棺材才会掉泪）。

Experiments suggest that people who see detailed pictures of their clogged arteries may be more likely to stay healthy than people who do not.
实验表明，看到自己动脉阻塞详细图片的那些人可能比没有看到的人更有可能保持健康。

The latest experiment was done in Sweden.
这次最新实验是在瑞典完成的。

Researchers there studied just over 3,500 people. These individuals were between 40 and 60 years of age. Each person had at least one risk factor for heart disease, but no signs of the disorder.
那里的研究人员研究了略多于3500人，他们的年龄在40到60岁之间。每个人都至少存在一项心脏病患病风险因素，但是尚未表现出患病迹象。

The researchers divided these subjects into two groups.
研究人员把这些受试者分成两组。

One group received what was called usual care – like taking medicine or talking with health care workers about heart disease.
其中一组接受了所谓的“常规治疗”，像是服用药物或是与医护人员谈论心脏病。

However, the members of the other group got to see pictures of their arteries. Researchers also gave them personalized guidance on why those pictures might be a sign of future health problems.
然而，另一组的受试人员看到了他们的动脉图片。研究人员还向他们提供了个人指导，解释为什么这些图片可能是未来健康问题的征兆。

One year later, the people who saw the images of their own arteries had fewer risk factors for heart disease than those who did not see pictures.
一年之后，看过动脉图片的受试者比没看过的人患心脏病的风险因素更少。

The researchers reported their findings in The Lancet.
研究人员将他们的发现发表在《柳叶刀》杂志上。

The lead writer of a report on the study was Ulf Naslund of Umea University. In an email to the Reuters news agency, he explained that the best ways to keep your arteries healthy is to follow a healthy lifestyle. He said that means do not smoke, drink less alcohol, eat healthy food, exercise and take the right medications to lower cholesterol and high blood pressure.
该研究报告的主要作者是瑞典于默奥大学的纳斯兰德。他在写给路透社的邮件中解释称，保持动脉健康的最佳途径就是遵循健康的生活方式，也就是不吸烟、少喝酒、饮食健康、多运动并服用对症药物，以降低胆固醇和高血压。

There are plenty of treatments, Naslund noted. That is not the problem. The problem, he said, is that people do not take steps to improve their condition or take their medicines.
纳斯兰德指出，治疗方法很多，但是这并非问题所在。他说，问题在于人们并未采取措施改善病情，也没有服药。

That is where the "seeing" part may help.
这可能就是“看”可能有所帮助的地方。

Doctors warn that many people think they have healthy hearts but, actually, they do not.
医生警告说，很多人自认为心脏健康，但是实际并非如此。

Atherosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries, can be a silent killer. It takes many years to develop and patients may show no symptoms until the condition is severe and difficult to treat.
动脉粥样硬化可能是无声杀手。它会潜伏多年，病人可能没有症状，直到病情严重、医治困难。

Because it is a silent killer, experts say patients only remember a small part of what their doctor tells them to do. Seeing a picture is much more effective. To use a popular English expression, "A picture is worth a thousand words."
专家表示，因为它是无声杀手，所以患者只记得一小部分遗嘱，看到图片更为有效，用流行的话来说就是“一张图片胜过千言万语。”

Each year around the world, about 17.9 million people die from some form of cardiovascular disease. That is 31% of all deaths worldwide. These numbers come from the World Health Organization (WHO).
全球每年都有大约1790万人死于某种形式的心血管疾病，占到了全球死亡人数的31%。这些数据源自世界卫生组织。

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are disorders of the heart and blood vessels. The WHO website published this advice about heart health:
心血管疾病是指心脏和血管类疾病。世卫组织官方网站上发布了有关心脏健康的建议。

 · Tobacco use, an unhealthy diet, and physical inactivity increase the risk of heart attacks and strokes.
    吸烟、不健康饮食以及缺乏运动会增加心脏病发作和中风的风险。

 · Exercising for at least 30 minutes every day will help to prevent heart attacks and strokes.
    每天至少锻炼30分钟会有助于预防心脏病和中风。

 · Eating at least five servings of fruit and vegetables a day, and limiting your salt intake to less than one teaspoon a day, also helps to prevent heart attacks and strokes.
    每天至少吃五份水果和蔬菜，并且每天的食盐摄入量低于1匙，这样也有助于预防心脏病和中风。

And that's the Health & Lifestyle report.
以上就是本期健康和生活方式报道的全部内容。